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LED headlamps

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by GreenChris, May 25, 2009.

  1. GreenChris

    GreenChris Junior Member

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    Ok, so now some of you guys have Prius V's.. what do you think of the LED headlamps? How about some pics? Are they worth getting over the solar moonroof? Please share!
     
  2. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    The LEDs seem to be pretty nice. Many people have asked how they compare to the HIDs, so I took pics of my 2010 side-by-side with my 2010:

    Here are the 2010 (with LEDs and fogs) and the 2007 (with HIDs and fogs): DSCF6826_2.jpg

    Close-up of the 2010 with LEDs: DSCF6827_2.jpg

    Close-up of the 2007 with HIDs: DSCF6828_7.jpg
     
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  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Thanks! How do they compare with regards to distance covered and brightness (e.g. against a wall at x feet from the wall)
     
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  4. bedrock8x

    bedrock8x Senior Member

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    It would be helpful if you can put the lights on a wall side by side with both cars in the same picture. The will give the correct exposure to make the comparison meaningful.
     
  5. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Sorry, guys! I just lost my head, I guess. Actually, it took hours to complete the deal and I had to go.

    I imagine the dealership would let me do that on a slow day. I'll have to see when!
     
  6. exbauer

    exbauer Active Member

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    thank you for snapping some pictures. i really would like to see the cut-off of the headlights.
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Ohh.. you traded it in? Ok.. then yeah it's gonna be hard unless the dealer has a slow day.
     
  8. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Either that, or you have a salesman who is committed to making customers happy!

    Yes, I traded in my '07 Monday. It was sold -- yesterday! Wow! That was fast.

    So, here's what happened. I stopped by this evening to see if I could get some more pictures. The dealer had one '09 left with HIDs. We parked it right next to my 2010 w/ LEDs and took some photos.

    Here are three pics for comparison:

    1. This photo shows the LEDs on the left and the HIDs on the right.

    DSCF6863_1.jpg

    2. This photo shows the low beams on each car paired with that car's fog lamps.

    DSCF6862_1.jpg

    3. This photo shows the LEDs with the Halogen brights on the 2010 and the HIDs in brights on the right.

    DSCF6864_1.jpg

    It appears to me the LEDs have a bit more brightness and a broader effect, though it is rather easy to see the color differences when the 2010 is using its halogen higbbeams.
     
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  9. XMAN LIVE

    XMAN LIVE "Just have Fun!"

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    Great job! Now We can't wait until you can give us some more data about ATP. You have gave us some feedback but I am hopeful that you will be going on some driving test this weekend and parking test and etc.. I will continue to check the LKA thread for your update great work. Thanks for your feedback.
    :)
     
  10. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Thanks!!!!

    Hmm, it seems that the LEDs have a whiter appearance whereas the HIDs have a cool green appearance in low beam.

    The fog lights seem to be brighter (or cover more distance) in the new one as they're barely perceptable in the '09.

    Lastly, the addition of halogen high beams definitely help create more light vs. the dual filament '09 model. (even compared to my halogen '05 model).


    Given what I've seen, it's not really a big deal other than energy savings. They're slightly better than HIDs and give an even more natural light.
     
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  11. LTRAiN

    LTRAiN New Member

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    from the fotos to me it looks like the LED's have slightly more of a halogeny yellowish tint to the light vs. the HID.

    but i like the look of the LED circular shape from the front.

    dont know why the headlights are so important to me. the LEDs look terrific, i just wish they had even more of a bluish/white tone to them.
     
  12. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Interestingly, I don't see it the same way. I see the LEDs as having a touch of blue to them, but nearly the same white as the HIDs. Remember that one of the pics has the fogs on, so there is some color distortion with the LEDs, because the 2010 fogs are much stronger (or so it appears). Also, the third picture includes the brights, and the 2010 brights are halogens, thus causing the strong yellow in the 2010 lighting array on that picture.
     
  13. shawnb2

    shawnb2 Active Member

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    Any word on what bulb is used for the fog/driving lights on the 2010? I really want to do yellow HID's once I get the car and knowing before hand would certainly help me prepare. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks.
     
  14. exbauer

    exbauer Active Member

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    The fog lights definitely are stronger in the 2010 Prius. They spread pretty far to the side and in front of the car. I think the LEDs are definitely bluer than the HIDs. It is also nice that there isn't such a long warm up time as HIDs.

     
  15. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    Hmmm. I'm getting kind of nostalgic thinking of the "flash" everytime I turned on the lights . . .

    These LEDs are pretty cool.

    Where's darelldd when you need him, anyway?
     
  16. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    No worries. I'm keeping an eye on you. :)

    Thanks for the great comparo pictures! It does appear that the LEDs are holding their own. I'm thrilled to see that. LEDs won't have the "gosh, should I really turn these off and back on?" problem associated with HID restrike. Ya gotta love solid-state!
     
  17. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    For comparison, here's the beam pattern of the projector halogen bulbs:

    [​IMG]

    I find them to be adjusted a bit low compared to how the HIDs were adjusted in the 2004. That being said, the HIDs (and the LEDs) are auto-leveling whereas the projector halogens are not.
     

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  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    They seem fairly bright actually. Is that close to real life or is a photo illusion?

    Also remember that some Gen 2s had their headlights adjusted fairly high up. I had to adjust mine down slightly because when I swapped bulbs, I was getting a few flashes from oncoming traffic.
     
  19. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    The cut-off is pretty severe. The small fill pattern above is filled partially by the small lights above the headlamp. IMHO at a distance, they point down quite a bit and could stand to be aimed just slightly higher. For those who look right at the cut-off, they'd see a blue tinge caused by the lens.

    Photo info
    Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ28 (same one I had @ Detroit)
    ISO: 400
    Exposure: 1/20 sec
    Aperture: 2.8
    Flash: Off

    At those settings, the level of brightness is probably fairly accurate, but probably exaggerated just slightly by the auto level-adjustment Picasa performed.
     
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  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    So it's a typical projector lens.